Fitting my shotgun stock.

In mounting my Baikal O/U 20ga. I am positive I need more drop in the comb. Does this mean a stock replacement or can the factory stock be modified to this purpose. When shouldered I see the complete length of the barrel & as such all shots are high. To receive the correct sight plane my cheek must be back near the recoil pad & the upper half (heel) of the stock is not touching my shoulder at all. Length of pull seems correct but all else is off. Drop at the heel might correct some of the problem but I (my Okie thinking) think the comb drop is the main culprit. I know I should have it fitted but I was wondering--New stock or adjust the orignal. Hmmmmmm----

I would say take down the comb till it fits you right and your sight picture is right. It sounds like it is a preaty straight stock. Try to form it back to the butt. Check often as you cant put the wood back on after it is removed.
F.K.

Fisherking, would this mean lowering the cheek area & thus making the cheek section thinner vertically. I have did lots of stock refinishing but no stock carving or adjusting. By adjusting the comb area does this also adjust the drop at the heel? I think I remember one way of checking the drop at the heel is to stand the shotgun flat on the buttpad & lean the gun against a wall & measure the distance from the wall to the muzzle --or am I confusing this with some other check? I just want to be sure before I start. Thanks for all your info--wish I knew enough to answer some of your questions- envy-envy.

If you are taking wood off the comb I would bring the cut back to the heal of the stock so I gess this would lower the drop. It would make the distance between the heal and toe of the butt shorter.
I usualy use a scraper( piece of flat thin steel with a rolled edge) to do this. It takes off a small roll of wood off at a time.
F.K.

Good answers but a quick word of advise-if the comb is lower than at heel the gun will seem to kick less because the stock won't be smacking the shooter's cheek during recoil. Be sure to have the comb go down in the front.

Thats what I like about life You are always learning and gaining new knowlage.
Thanks Bear for the added input. That makes scence(sp), I should have done that with this old Rugger 44 mag simi carbine I had twenty rounds and a swollen cheek every time. I traded it for three Black powder guns and wasn't sad to see it go.
F.K.

speaking of shooting & swolen cheeks, years ago when I was just starting out with a .30-06 I acquired a beautiful winchester 54. Not knowing squat about anything centerfire, I purchased this gun for $40.00 at a pawn shop. The finish was beautiful but it wasn't a mod.70 so I was somewhat disatisfied by that. I didn't know the rifle had been restocked & it must have been an amature that did it but the cheek piece was reversed. Thick at front & tapering back to the butplate. Every time I shot that rifle I got busted in the mouth & cheek. After about 3 shots I looked like a self sacrafice complete with thick lips & bloody teeth & a powerful headache. I traded that rifle straight across for a sporterized FN Mauser & that was when I realized the cheekpiece on the Win54 was backward. I've always been cautious about the comb & drop at the heel ever since. What an experience for the inexperienced.

It's no longer May but hopefully, you haven't begun removing wood from your comb yet.

In my opinion, it's usually a terrible idea. A much better way would be to install an "add-on" rib on top of your exiting rib. Add-n ribs are available in aluminum or space-age delrin plastic. Delrin ribs attach to the existing rib with double-sided tape and have been used successfully for years by people like us with low cheekbones.

To determine how high an add-on rib would need to be, use a thin strip of wood taped to your rib. Balsa from a hobby shop works very well. A cut-off map pin will work for a temporary bront bead if you need one.